February 2, 2009
Economic weakness continues to negatively impact our shipment count and tonnage. Because this trend is an industry wide event, it creates an increasingly competitive pricing environment. This combination of reduced tonnage and more aggressive pricing to maintain our market share is causing significant pressure on industry profits.
Based on these market conditions and the uncertainty we face, there are difficult decisions that need to be made to ensure Saia is able to maintain a strong financial position for the future.
With that in mind, effective February 1, 2009, Saia will temporarily suspend matching contributions to our 401k plan for all employees. When our volumes and financial performance improve, the 401k match will be re-instated. This will not affect the contributions you make directly and Saia will continue to pay all administrative fees with Fidelity for the continued management of your accounts.
I regret having to make this announcement, but as I am sure you are aware, it is^ something that many other company's are doing to weather the current economic and financial crisis.
During these difficult times, I am personally asking each Saia employee to focus your effort and energy to provide our customers best-in-class service. This is a time for us to grow our business by outperforming the competition. Each of us can make a difference. The more market share we can gain the sooner we will return to positive growth and the re-instatement of this company benefit.
Thank you for your continued support, dedication and commitment to Saia. I know how important it is to provide for ourselves and our families. No one takes that more seriously than I do. Again, I view this as a temporary measure and look forward to re¬instating our 401k match as soon as possible.